Cracking the case of foreign body aspiration

Foreign body aspiration, although a leading cause of unintentional deaths in children, is relatively uncommon in adults. The typical objects are food particles, which are aspirated in patients with altered mental status or pharyngeal dysfunction. We report an atypical case of foreign body aspiration in an adult presenting with dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. The patient was found to have central airway obstruction secondary to an aspirated crack vial in his left mainstem bronchus, requiring urgent rigid broncho-scopic removal.